Test Your Shading Skills! Plus Shading Exercises For Beginners

So you're not sure what you can do to get better at drawing? Start by testing your skills with these three shading exercises to see if you're shading is up to scratch!
00:50 Materials
01:01 Exercise 1: Shade with light pressure
03:02 Exercise 2: Shade smooth dark values
05:13 Blending out the shading marks
06:12 Exercise 3: How to shade transitions
If you find you've got room to improve, check out the rest of the video for tips on what you actually need to practice to get better at shading:
10:41 Troubleshooting light shading
12:26 Troubleshooting dark shading
13:39 Troubleshooting transitional shading
🎥 Watch Next: Easy Drawing Exercises for Beginners • Easy Drawing Exercises...
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👉 PRODUCT LINKS:
Tombow Mono Zero Eraser Pen amzn.to/39UqOQr
Tombow Mono Pencil Set incl sharpener: amzn.to/3LBN2FJ
Tombow Mono Pencil Set incl Eraser Pen (pencils require sharpening): amzn.to/3LDxodT
Staedtler Mars Technico, comes with a 2mm HB lead and has a sharpener in the top amzn.to/3iJvoVx I use 4B leads (pack of 12): amzn.to/3VLFuDZ
Faber Castell Kneadable Eraser: amzn.to/3OE9kGM
GrafBook by ClaireFontaine (sketchbook used in this video): amzn.to/3Y5vKGI
Canson 9x12" wirebound sketchbook, card cover amzn.to/3OKE5JT
Canson 11x14" wirebound sketchbook, card cover amzn.to/3NvG03T
Some items may be affiliate links which means I receive a small commission if you purchase via the link. I only list products I use and recommend.

[@minalphatak3463]

Hello, I am from India I recently came across your channel. I am a beginner and your videos are really helpful and in simple language to understand . Your calmness is lovely. No background music is also an advantage to learn. I am goin through your old videos and learning a lot from them Thanks a lot.

[@dogwalker1963]

I've never had an art teacher tell me such basic and important information. Thank you, Emily! This is great :)

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad its useful. thanks for watching!

[@Kathy54767]

I really appreciate how thorough you are in explaining how to go at shading. Thank you Emily.

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

You're welcome - thanks for watching!

[@AbiNomac]

So happy your channel came up in my feed. Subscribed

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thank you!

[@bigbarty8648]

I practice my shading between overs when I'm watching the cricket, perfect! Thanks for another great tutorial. 😘

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Just in the boring bits :D Thanks for watching!

[@roseliamariadasilva4385]

Thank you! following your exercises encouraged me to try to draw. ❤😜🙏

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for watching :)

[@gerrardhuntly-peck5893]

A great place to start ... big Thanks

[@ButterFly-cw7sj]

I love your videos!!! They help me understand values in a simple but effective way. 💕❤️💕☺️🤗☺️🌹

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad to hear that, thanks for watching 😊

[@daytonagreg8765]

I needed this! Thank you.

[@chickie_dan]

These exercises are incredibly helpful! Thank you ❤

[@nightman2834]

i Just found your videos and love them thanks so much🙂

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad you like them! Appreciate your comment :)

[@gomathiv226]

Superb

[@kcphotographystudios8836]

Another great practice! Thanks Em, love the shirt too!

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Ha thanks, those tshirts are my usual work uniform for the last five years or so but usually I'm wearing something over top in my videos - probably makes more sense to show my logo :D

[@katemccarthy2463]

Thank you this was very helpful. Now I need to do exactly that, practice

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Yes practice is the key! Thanks for watching :)

[@charlesubaldi4566]

❤thank you so much emily!!!

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thanks for watching :)

[@cerriwyn169]

Thank for your video it’s really helping improve my skills the pace is perfect 👍🏾 xx

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thanks for the feedback Zena, glad its helpful!

[@sharonh988]

Thanks so much for doing these lessons. They are so helpful.

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad to hear it! Thank you 😊

[@maryadasharma4942]

Thank you, your videos are helping me understand drawing

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad to hear that!

[@teresinharoberts6421]

Great video! I found these exercises really useful

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thank you, thats great to hear :)

[@cmonaco577]

Thank you, Emily for this great video. I do so need to spend more time practicing my shading. This is the boost I needed! Carol 🙂

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Hi Carol, Glad the video is motivating! I'm working on a follow on one that you can use to practice these shading skills - keep an eye out over the next week or two :)

[@alexandriakhalil341]

Emily is an outstanding teacher 👏. Thank you 😊

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thanks for your kind words, glad the video is useful!

[@SunithaVasantha]

Hello madam. Thank you 🙏🙏

[@desenhosdoestevao]

using the brush to blend the pencil changed my life thanks for the video

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Glad to hear that! Thanks very much for watching :)

[@mattmanning7999]

Again great video. Just turned a friend of mine onto your lessons. I would like all your videos if I knew where to do this❤thanks.

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thanks Matt! You can see all my KZbin videos by clicking here: www.youtube.com/@ThePencilRoomOnline/videos They are sorted by different playlists here: www.youtube.com/@ThePencilRoomOnline/playlists Or if you are interested in more in-depth tutorials that are part of my membership, you can preview them here: thepencilroomonline.podia.com/sketch-club

[@jasonballinger3549]

Hi. Firstly, LOVE your videos. They are so helpful for beginners. Can you tell me what size/type of brush you used fir blending ? Seems perfect fir the job and I love the results it gives.

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Thanks! The brush is just an old Taklon (nylon) round brush no. 5 that is no good for watercolour anymore because the end is too frayed. Sorry I cant recommend a specific brush as I just use old brushes and find ones that work for different situations. A brush like this one would probably be too stiff if it was brand new. For really pushing the graphite into the paper I use a stiffer bristle brush. For soft blending and for removing loose graphite I use a soft brush. Best thing to do if you can, is go into an art shop and have a good feel of the round brushes and look for something soft that isnt too pointy at the end. If anyone else knows a specific brand, hopefully they will comment to help us both out :)

[@jasonballinger3549]

I’ll experiment … my stepmom is a painter …. I’m sure she has some old tired brushes …. Thanks for info !

[@Mortalwonder]

@@jasonballinger3549 she’ll probably be glad to give them a new use! The paper makes a big difference too so try some different textures with different brushes too. Good luck :)

[@jeanettehoward8681]

Love this video. Question: My pencil was too sharp. What kind of pencil sharpener would you recommend?

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Hi Jeanette, sorry about the delay in responding. Rather than a sharp pencil (although sometimes this is important) you might try a softer pencil than what you are using eg. a 4B pencil or 6B pencil. Even if its sharp it will become blunt quickly and you can use it on the side to get smooth shading. Personally I use a sturdy metal pencil sharpener (not a cheap plastic one) which seems to have a better blade on it. Or I use a craft knife on some pencils but this takes a bit of practice. You should be able to find videos on it if interested - the advantage is you can control how much lead and casing is removed. Disadvantage is until you are skilled at it you can lose a lot of pencil! always sharpen away from you if you do try this. Thanks for watching the video!

[@Brembelia]

Are there different qualities of graphite pencils? It seems like some have a wax binder and the graphite powder clumps or streaks when shading because some of it is aggregating in lines within the shading. If this is so, are there any specific drawing pencils you prefer or would recommend? Also, is there any type or specific brand of paper you might suggest that is a decent drawing paper &/or sketchbook that won't give performance headaches but also won't cost the earth? Thank you for your video. It's good to start at the beginning and go through the process carefully to fill in any gaps in ones knowledge and understanding. Your videos are providing this. Thank you. 💐

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Yes there are definitely different qualities of graphite pencils! Which ones do you find you are having the problem with? I used to use Faber Castell Goldfaber pencils with my in person students and had a similar problem, particularly when building up layers. I switched to Faber Castell 9000 and didnt have the same problem so even within brands there is a difference in their cheaper and more expensive ranges. It's really difficult to find exactly what is in each brand of pencil and how much wax or how much clay is used in the binding but I THINK more clay rather than wax used as binder will give a higher quality pencil. I prefer Tombow Mono pencils which are the ones used in this video and linked in the description, the harder grades are very smooth and the softer grades are really dark. Because it's difficult to know whats in each brand of pencil, we can really only go by price and by trial and error. If you have an art shop near you, I'd buy a few different brands of single pencils for a couple of bucks each and see how you like them. As to paper, it will also make a difference as to how the pencil deposits graphite. You want something with a little bit of texture to grip the graphite but not too much texture, and you want a good weight of paper like 65lb / 96gsm or greater. In this video I use a sketchbook by ClaireFontaine which is quite smooth and 100gsm but it is also quite pricey. It's difficult to recommend a specific sketchbook because I think its good to see and feel the paper to check the texture and colour, so again if you have an art shop nearby, go have a feel :) I do often use a simple and cheap art student sketchbook for a lot of my videos but it's a NZ brand and the closest I've found are the more expensive Canson ones. Generally an art brand sketch book with decent weight paper should be fine - Strathmore is a popular paper brand but I find their sketchbook paper a bit light so prefer the ones by Canson. There are a links in the description to Canson sketchbooks and the Claire Fontane one used in this video. I have a video coming out shortly testing different paper types and brands which might be useful. When it comes to sheets of paper, Strathmore 300 or 400 series is worth the extra cost for its uniformity. And if you haven't already you might want to watch my video on materials which goes over pencils and sketchbooks: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZWQlnaklMeYfJI Its a long answer, let me know if you have any questions...in short, if you can afford them I'd recommend using the products I've linked in the description, or get to an art shop and and look at buying some cheaper alternatives to give them a test :)

[@mathilde8068]

Nice video. My shading is oke. My problem is not crossing the lines. 🤷‍♀️

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

The main thing is getting an even light or dark tonal value. You could practice controlling the length of your shading marks to stay inside the lines though tbh it doesnt usually matter that much when shading an actual object/person/thing!

[@minalphatak3463]

Do you have perspective for beginners video? I tried to find on your channel but not found it

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

Hi Minal, I don’t have one yet sorry but I will put it on my list to make one next month. Hope you can come back for it! Thanks for watching, Emily

[@jojojo8835]

11:00 😂 after a month of practice the ends of my pencils are about an inch away from the tips

[@ThePencilRoomOnline]

That is an excellent sign of dedicated practice 😆